


The Shell

by Awallaby123



Category: ATEEZ (Band), EXO (Band), NCT (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Character Death, F/M, Magic, Romance, Sirens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28447269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awallaby123/pseuds/Awallaby123
Summary: "Even though it was soft and sweet, I could have never imagined a simple kiss would feel this exhilarating"
Kudos: 3





	The Shell

Panic struck my body as I took my first breath above the water, the cold air stings as it hits my lungs. I was a bit disoriented as my eyes tried to adjust to the sunlight. Once my vision was clear enough I whipped my head around trying to search desperately for the man that was with me. With him nowhere in sight I hurriedly swam the short distance to the beach, afraid of what might happen if I stayed in the water for too long. Once I reached the sand I turned back around toward the water. Up ahead I spotted a head of blonde hair bob up to the surface. I breathed a sigh of relief and yelled out for my friend. "CHANYEOL! CHANYEOL ARE YOU HURT?!" I yelled out. "NO, NOW HURRY AND GET COVER BEHIND THE ROCKS FURTHER UP."

I nodded and turned back around and started crawling.

The weight of my tail felt immense as I dug my forearms into the wet sand to pull myself away from the ocean. I had felt weightless my entire life under the water, not fully understanding the burden that came along with my power that was now literally exhausting my muscles with every attempt to move forward onto land.

My forearms were on fire and my arms violently shook and threatened to give out beneath me. I tried to push through the pain my body had been feeling for the past couple hours. The burn on the right side of my ribcage was screaming as coarse sand rubbed into it. My willpower to keep moving forward was decreasing at a fast rate. My sad attempt at crawling became slower and slower until my trembling arms finally gave way and my body fell forward into the sand.

The second I stopped I felt instant relief in all of my muscles, however the pain on my ribcage was still throbbing and burning. Tears started to well up and fall down my cheeks and to the sand beneath me. With all the stress and trauma I had just endured, I just knew it was going to get worse. I couldn't help but completely break down. Uncontrollable sobs wracking through my body.

Suddenly I felt a large hand grab onto my upper arm to try and pull me forward .

"Y/N we have to keep moving, I know its hard but we have to get behind those rocks and out of sight."

I looked through the blur in my eyes, and directly at the man who grabbed my attention. I have no idea how he got to me so fast or how long I had been laying in the sand for.

"Please Chanyeol can't we just stop just for a moment, we can't even see them anymore." I desperately choked out.

"Y/N you know we can't, we don't know when the change will start but the second it does we won't be able to defend ourselves and I won't be able to help you. Now move." he said harshly.

Knowing he was right, I reluctantly pushed my body up and started to crawl again. I had to keep going. Too many people had died protecting me and I couldn't let them die just for me to get caught by some poachers.

With a relieved sigh, Chanyeol continued moving as well. He soon got farther ahead of me as we inched our way closer to some large boulders further up on the beach to take shelter behind.

Once Chanyeol reached the boulders, he moved into a seated position, wincing a bit and closing his eyes for a second of relief. When he reopened them he turned and saw me close enough, so he reached a hand out and I gladly grabbed on as he hoisted me beside him. We were as safe as we could be for now with the boulders blocking any view of us from the ocean.

Once seated down beside him with my back resting up against the rock behind us, my head lulled to the side to rest on Chanyeol's shoulder.

I couldn't help but shiver from the cold air, the feeling of being completely out of the water for the first time in my life finally sinking in. Noticing my trembling form, Chanyeol's arm draped across my shoulder and pulled me tighter to his solid warm body.

We both sat in silence for a few minutes watching the storm clouds roll in above us. Besides the waves crashing against the shore, the only sounds that could be heard was our labored breathing.

Eventually Chanyeol spoke up.

"Is your side okay?" he asks. Eyes shifting from the sky to the side of my body where a fresh burn had scorched the side of my rib cage.

"Compared to what's about to happen it's fine." I said. Not wanting to bring up any pain I was actually feeling right now. I didn't want to stress him out more than he already was.

"I just feel terrible about what happened I didn't mean to lose control like that, I was just trying to get San away fr-

"Chanyeol I know. I said its fine just let it go. I know you were only trying to protect me."

I looked up into his eyes and he opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a deafening roar of thunder causing both of us to jump and making me to curl closer into him with my face hiding in the crook of his neck.

The thunder continued on for a few more minutes. With me trying to snuggle in as close to my best friend as I could.

"It's okay it's okay. It was just some thunder we're fine. I've got you y/n" he said as he hugged me tight and gently rubbed circles on my back.

"I didn't know it could get that loud." I mumbled into his neck.

"We just aren't used to hearing it that close" he responded, sounding a bit shaken himself.

After a while, I got the courage to lift my head from his neck as I got used to the cracks and rumbles from the storm.

As he unwrapped his arms from me, I slowly sat back into my original position and silence fell between us once again.

My eyes wandered down to look at our tails for probably the last time. As I sat admiring them, my fingers drifted down to touch my own scales which were jet black in color and now completely dry, making its once shiny appearance look dull.

I glanced over to Chanyeol's. His tail was a beautiful deep red color, matching the gills on the sides of his neck. I reached down to touch the shimmering scales, admiring how beautiful he was.

The second I made contact with his tail he winced and I quickly pulled my hand away watching in horror as many of the scales had started to fall away from the spot that I had just touched. I turned to look up at him and there was clear pain in his eyes as he clutched one side of his neck where his gills were, groaning in pain.

He's starting his transformation already. From siren to human.

"Oh shit." I quickly scooted away from him so I wouldn't risk accidentally hurting him any more. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't think it would start this quickly." I felt panic rise up into my chest. I wasn't ready for this, I don't want to change now. It feels too rushed.

As I moved away from him he quickly reached out to grab my hand.

I could tell he was struggling to want to say something but before I could ask he pulled me close again and gently cupped my face. We were only centimeters apart. The look in his eye was something I had never seen from him before. He looked scared.

"I just want you to know that whatever happens after this I will always be with you. I love you." he said hesitantly as single tear fall down his cheek.

Immediately when his lips touched mine I felt an undeniable warmth spread throughout my body, reaching outward from my heart and to my head and down through to the fin of my tail. It felt euphoric. I had easily melted into the kiss, chasing after more of that high that was spreading through me. Even though it was soft and sweet, I could have never imagined a simple kiss would feel this exhilarating.

Our moment didn't last long however, our lips parted quickly as Chanyeol yelled out in pain and doubled over, clutching his neck again and dropping to the sand.

I wanted to help him desperately, but I knew there was nothing I could do. The process was painful, and you just had to let it happen naturally. Thankfully I knew he would eventually black out so he won't feel any pain.

I suddenly felt throbbing in my gills, it was dull but I knew any second I would be in the same predicament as the man lying on the ground in front of me.

And I was right, just a few moments later, a pain that felt like someone was skinning me alive suddenly took over the lower part of my body. I couldn't help but let out a scream and fall sideways into the sand trying to curl into the fetal position, hoping this would make the searing pain disappear, but it only got worse.

A stronger pain suddenly made its way to the sides of my neck. I reached up desperately with both hands and clutched my gills trying to dull out the agonizing pain of what felt like someone trying to suffocate me while cutting into my throat.

It was all becoming too much, I wanted desperately to be back in the safety of Chanyeol's arms. I thought I could muster up enough strength to flip around and face my best friend, but before I could, the pain in my head overcame me and I blacked out.


End file.
